California legislator tries to limit food truck presence near schools

Feb. 20, 2012

California Assemblyman Bill Monning (D-Carmel) has proposed a state law to ban food trucks from selling food within 500 yards of a school campus. The proposal – Assembly Bill 1678 – calls for the ban from breakfast until dinner time, according to the Sacramento Bee.

He said the mobile operations create "an attractive nuisance" that pull students away from a nutritious school lunch and aid in the "public epidemic of youth obesity."

The bill would cover 43 square miles of the Sacramento, Calif., market, or 44 percent of the city.

Opponents say targeting food trucks specifically doesn't make sense if quick-service restaurants, pizza shops and other such businesses aren't included as well.

The California Restaurant Association has not taken a position on the proposed legislation, however spokesperson Daniel Conway said there are concerns about setting a precedent of banning vendors from selling foods near campuses.